Home may be cost of misplaced trust

The law isn't on their side, but you will be.

Over 25 years, carefully, quietly, Brenda and Terry Edwards paid off the mortgage on their two-bedroom house in Royal Oak. In 1997, it was theirs, free and clear.

"All we ever wanted was to not have a mortgage," says Brenda Edwards, her voice husky from days of crying and talking.

Owning the white bungalow on Hilldale Drive was a dream achieved. But when they got behind on taxes, they decided -- after 30 years in the house -- to modestly tap the value in their home in 2004.

They thought they were getting a $10,000 home equity loan. Instead, they sold the house for $137,000, money they didn't receive. Their loan officer later cashed a check for at least $33,000 of the proceeds and has since disappeared, according to the Edwards and their lawyer.

They signed papers they neither read nor understood, thinking they were getting a loan. How could they do that? "We trusted him," says Brenda Edwards. The loan officer -- whom they had found through the phone book -- visited them, befriending Terry Edwards, who at 57, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is mentally and physically disabled.

She's a high school graduate who worked only briefly outside the home; he's a Vietnam War veteran who worked two decades operating heavy equipment before a disabling injury. Their house is full of memories, including one devastating one: They lost their youngest daughter Wendi when she was 8, to a teenager driving too fast in front of their house.

This house -- with the woodwork restored to pristine condition by Terry Edwards -- is their history, providing a connection to the daughter they lost, to their 36-year-old daughter Tracie Wullaert, to their life as a family.

"All we wanted was $10,000. We owned the house," says Brenda Edwards, 56. "They came in like saviors, saying, 'Don't worry. We'll help.' "

Now, two years later, the trail of paper and litigation is coming to an end. U.S. Bank, which legally owns the foreclosed house, Wednesday won the legal right in 44th District Court (Royal Oak) to evict the couple as soon as Aug. 7.

After a lifetime in the house they planned to live in forever, the best they can do -- no matter how successful negotiations go -- is to make a deal to buy back the house they already bought and paid for.

"It's a tragic story," says Joel Grand, who specializes in foreclosure law. Although he represents U.S. Bank in the case, Grand says he has no authority to make statements on behalf of the bank.

But he points out that "most conmen and conwomen are very believable people. That's why (these scams) work."

A year ago, an eviction order in place, the Edwards family packed, placing furniture in storage, resigned to the end. Their lawyer, Scott Smith, won a $33,000 judgment against LaSalle Bank for a check cashed by the loan officer but made out to the Edwardses.

That's money they hope to use to buy back their own house.

A veterans group -- Veterans Haven -- has pledged $10,000 to the couple. A West Bloomfield woman is offering them a house to live in, if it comes to that.

And the lawyers are huddling, trying to work out a deal. I believe they will.

You can reach Laura Berman at (248) 647-7221 or .